


My Lonely Days Are Over

by agoodpersonrose



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, David Rose Deserves Nice Things, David Rose Loves Patrick Brewer, David Rose in his Wedding Skirt, First Dance, Happy Ending, Karaoke, Kissing, M/M, Patrick Brewer loves David Rose, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wedding Day, What if they got the tent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodpersonrose/pseuds/agoodpersonrose
Summary: “I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss each other.”A retelling of David and Patrick's wedding, if they had gotten the tent.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 12
Kudos: 83





	My Lonely Days Are Over

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to fairmanor for your constant support!!
> 
> I have tried to list songs as they come up so if you enjoy having a playlist to your reading please head these for the right vibes! Hope you enjoy a bit of wedding fluff!

David awakes on the morning of his wedding to an empty room.

He stretches, groans a little at the uncomfortably hard mattress and turns to grab his phone from the side table. It is still early, not yet nine o’clock, but his skin is thrumming with the need to get up and do something.

He can hear the rain pattering on the windows and for a moment his heart race speeds up, but it doesn’t sound like any more than a light September shower, and Patrick had insisted that they choose to get a tent rather than a wood-fired pizza oven. The ceremony is safe, and David finds himself not for the first time, thanking his soon-to-be husband’s boy scout past.

He’s getting married today, something he had all but given up on after a long, long string of very bad luck. Turns out he can’t have been all that bad in a past life. Not if he gets to have this. Not if he gets to have Patrick.

David smiles to himself as he opens his messages and starts replying.

Alexis Rose  
  
Mom and Dad had to go and pick up the Brewers, they got a little lost on their way down. Stevie and I have gone to get Fabian, apparently his Penny Farthing will rust if he rides it in the rain?  
  
Anyway everything is fine! Don't worry your little head about a thing!  
  
We'll be back by 12 so you'd better be back at the motel by then ;)  
  
Where else would I be?  
You and I both know you're heading over to your little boyfriend's apartment this morning. You're not discreet.  
He's not my boyfriend and fine I will be back by 12

Patrick  
  
I miss you, are you still sneaking over this morning for a bit?  
  
Yeah, my family have all gone on errands so I will be there soon.  
  
Want a lift?  
  
Yes please <3  


Patrick picks him up in less than half an hour. David is surprised when he climbs out of the car and beats David to the motel door rather than waiting in the driving seat, but is more than happy to accept the needy, open-mouthed kiss Patrick gives him as a result.

“I need to get out of the rain,” David whines even as he stares, glazed eyes at Patrick who seems equally as affected by the kiss.

“Yeah, I know, come on.”

Patrick rushes David from the doorway of the motel and deposits him straight into the passenger seat. He leans in after him to kiss him again, smiling ruefully as he pulls away and runs around the car to climb into the driver’s side.

Once he’s buckled in, he leans over the console and kisses David again.

“Are you going to be like this all day?” David asks with a put-upon huff.

“Well, you won’t be my fiancé for much longer. I’m just trying to get my money’s worth,” Patrick replies with a chuckle, which David pretends to be annoyed back but his smile peeks out anyway and Patrick’s responding grin makes it clear that he’s been caught out.

They hold hands in silence all the way to Patrick’s apartment. David takes the opportunity of the short journey to take in the view. Patrick turns to smile at him out of the corner of his eye every so often, his dimples popping as he gazes across at David with unrestrained affection.

When they arrive, Patrick gets out of the car first, pulling his coat off and holding it over David’s head to protect him from the rain, (David Rose does not do raincoats). Patrick kisses him again on the threshold of the apartment block, again in the second-floor stairwell, and again, against the hard wood of the apartment door before he has even managed to fish his key out of his pocket.

“I’m gonna miss this,” Patrick murmurs as he finally closes the door behind them with a decisive click and pushes David against it, hot and demanding, till his breaths are coming in short gasps.

“Miss what?” David asks when he finally comes to his senses enough to register what Patrick has said.

“Kissing my fiancé.”

“Mm.”

They kiss again, slowly and surely with the confidence of a million more to come. Patrick starts to move across David’s jawline, brushing his lips against his rough stubble and making soft humming noises as he does so.

David relishes in these noises for a moment; though David had always been loud in his opinions, moaning and groaning whenever satisfied, Patrick is more discreet. The small hums are like a cat purring, only audible when sat extremely close. They vibrate from his chest whenever he’s overwhelmed or content and David loves them.

“What about kissing your husband?”

There’s the purr, as Patrick leans back up to connect their lips again. “Mm, I hope my husband likes kissing.”

“Your husband likes more than kissing.”

“Huh, well, I look forward to meeting _him_.”

David laughs, light and breezy and Patrick bites down on his shoulder in teasing retribution. He makes a dissatisfied sigh as he steps away from where he had been trapping David against the door and takes a deep breath.

“Okay, we should probably-- _oh,_ ” David pulls Patrick back in by the waist before he can finish that sentence, laying a final passionate kiss against his lips before nodding, satisfied, and patting his shoulders.

“You were saying?”

“You’re impossible,” Patrick murmurs, rolling his eyes fondly.

“You love me.”

“I _adore_ you.”

David smirks happily at that and nods, his fingers tapping Patrick’s shoulders absent mindedly as he avoids his eye contact for a moment and turns away, physically vibrating with joy.

“Come on, have you had breakfast? I bought bagels.”

They sit close on the couch, David legs slung over Patrick’s lap, listening to the steady patter of rain as Patrick feeds David bites of a sesame bagel. Every mouthful, David teasingly skates his teeth along Patrick’s fingertips and smirks up at his predictable reactions.

“You know, as sorry as I am that I couldn’t get you that pizza oven, I really am glad we got the tent,” Patrick says thoughtfully, staring out the window.

“Me too, and we don’t need pizza that badly. I’ve got everything I need right here.” David agrees.

“Well let’s not get crazy,” Patrick murmurs.

“You’re right, I really wanted pizza.”

Patrick hums placatingly and breaks off a bite of bagel for himself.

“Have you spoken to your parents this morning?”

“They were all gone by the time you woke up. Apparently, your parents got lost on the way here? Which is weird because they were fine last time,” David replies, stealing the piece of bagel Patrick had just broken off and chewing thoughtfully. “Oh, and Alexis and Stevie have gone to get Fabian. I don’t really think it’s a two-person job, but Stevie seemed pretty scared of him, so I think Alexis is just going for moral support.”

“I can’t say I’m complaining if it means I get more time with you this morning,” Patrick says cheekily, leaning in to kiss David quickly.

A soft knock at the door pulls them away from their conversation. David frowns and looks over his shoulder at it in confusion before turning back to Patrick.

“Do you reckon that’s your parents already?” he asks.

“Nope.” Patrick finishes off his bite and brushes the crumbs off his hands decisively. “That will be for you.”

“What did you do?” David asks, grinning and almost skipping towards the door. “It had better not be edible, I already ate three bagels and I don’t want to get stomach cramps when walking down the aisle.”

“Open the door,” Patrick mutters, hooking his chin over the back of the couch to watch.

David opens the apartment door and is met by a young-looking man in a grey shirt. “David Rose?” the man asks, looking up from a clipboard. Behind him in the corridor is a folded-up massage bed, and David lets his mouth drop into an excitable ‘o’ as he turns back to Patrick who has approached him from behind. “Hi, I’m Graeme, I’ll be doing a massage for you today.”

“You got me a massage?” David asks.

“Yep, I figured you wouldn’t handle the stress well today so I thought a little pampering wouldn’t go amiss. So, until your parents and Stevie and Alexis all get back you can just lie there, relax, and not talk for a while.”

David rolls his eyes but he’s smiling even as he returns to the bathroom to remove the under-eye patches that he had put on to ensure his skin was supple and unblemished in the photos.

The masseuse looks between them with a confused glance as he sets up the equipment. Finally, he turns around.

“Are you staying here?” he asks, looking at Patrick with a frown. “The partner doesn’t usually-- I mean, it’s not the normal thing for someone to be in the room while I’m working.”

Patrick smiles politely but shakes his head, unconcerned. “I have nowhere else to be so I figured I would just sit over there and read my book. I won’t interrupt or anything, you’ll barely know I’m there.”

“Okay,” he acquiesces, turning towards where David had disappeared and calling through the door. “If you don’t mind taking your clothes off while you’re in their Mr Rose, I can provide you with a towel if you need.”

David steps out of the bathroom a few minutes later with just the towel around his waist. He catches eyes with Patrick who looks up and down his body with a smirk before moving over to the living room. Patrick sits on the armchair, cup of tea and a book open in hand, watching in the corner of his eye as David mounts the table and lies on his front.

There’s silence in the start as the masseuse does his job, the only sounds filling the room being the odd turn of a page or sound of skin. After a while David hums, where he’s lying on his front with his head turned away from Patrick and the man.

“Either you’re very good at this, or the half pill I took just kicked in, because I am feeling very calm right now.”

“That’s good, because your neck is like a block of granite.”

“Okay, are we sure that’s not just muscle?” David asks, moving a little bit in his indignant response.

“Yes.”

“Alright, you answered that too quickly,” David huffs as he hears Patrick snort slightly from across the room.

“Okay, relax. Take a deep inhale, and a big exhale,” Graeme says as David follows his instruction, breathing in slowly through his nose and then out through his mouth, and letting the tension bleed out of his muscles as he does so. He feels floaty and barely awake as Graeme continues to knead his back with firm hands.

“Good, now do that consistently for the rest of this massage. Now, if you want to flip on your back.”

David frowns at this as the sheet above him is lifted but does as he’s told, flipping on his back and turning his head to smile at Patrick who has given up all pretence of reading to stare at the freckles on his fiancés shoulders.

“Inhale,” Graeme says, moving somewhere down where David can’t see, “and deep breath out.”

On the exhale David makes a surprised noise and sits up as Graeme’s hand has slipped under the sheet. “Oh my God.”

“If you can just lie back Mr Rose, keep doing those deep breaths that we spoke about,” he says, unphased.

“Lie back so that you can what, sorry?” David asks breathlessly.

He turns to Patrick who is staring across the room at them with shock clear on his face. “What are you--" he asks, putting his book to one side and moving to stand up.

“Your husband booked the Platinum package, it includes a--” Graeme trails off as he looks between David and Patrick who are both wide eyed. “Did you not read the description on the website?”

“Description on the-- I just booked the highest rated one, I don’t understand half the words anyway, what?”

“Well, I thought it was a bit strange for you to stay here while I worked, but I figured you knew what you were paying for. I mean, the note you gave with payment said to ‘take very good care of him’.”

“Oh my God,” David mutters over a laugh, holding a hand over his mouth as he watches Patrick’s face go through the five stages of grief.

“Now that we’re all on the same page, should I finish the massage?”

“Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Patrick interrupts, his eyebrows high on his face. David laughs again as he remembers the last time Patrick had looked like that; when Ted had reached over and kissed David at the housewarming party a year or so before. “I think that’s enough, right, David? Feeling pretty relaxed already?”

“Mhm,” David nods, his lips pushed together in a tight line as he tries not to let his reaction show on his face. He reaches over to where he had placed his towel off to the side and wraps it around his waist as he stands up. “So, I’m just gonna go put my clothes back on, leave you to sort all this out.”

He reaches out and squeezes Patrick’s bicep as he passes and once behind the closed door of the bathroom, lets himself laugh silently.

He changes slowly into his sweatpants and Love sweater. When he’s done, he peeks his head out from behind the door, to find Patrick alone, pacing in the living area. When he sees David, he heads straight over.

They are kissing as soon as David steps out of the bathroom with small gaps to giggle against each other’s lips.

“You asked him to take really good care of me, huh?” David asks, when the laughing makes the kissing impossible.

“Mm, that was my mistake, I should have known that I should be the only one to take really good care of you,” Patrick nods and leans in, clearly intent on resuming the kissing, but David keeps laughing.

“ _That_ was your mistake? How about reading the description of the service you were ordering? I thought you were the details guy.”

“I guess marriage has changed me,” Patrick mumbles, eyes still partially closed as his head leans up in search of David’s lips. “Oh my God,” he whines when David pulls back again. “What?”

“I was just thinking how I could have had a happy ending just now and instead; I was left bereft.”

“Bereft? David, really?”

“I’m just saying, I think an orgasm would really relax me right now,” David emphasises his point by waving his hands around in frustration.

“Oh really, well, maybe I should call Graeme back and leave you two to it then?” Patrick suggests, taking a step out of David’s arms with a raised eyebrow. He grins when David whines and follows his movement, slipping back into his space and wrapping his arms around Patrick’s shoulders.

“That sounds like a lot of effort when _you’re_ right here, and I mean, you give me the best orgasms so maybe you should--”

The end of the sentence is cut off as Patrick kisses him again, soft and unhurried. David pushes Patrick towards the couch, but at the last minute he swings round and sits down, pulling Patrick on top of him. Patrick straddles his lap and pushes into David. His mouth is hot and warm, open and probing into David’s with genuine passion.

“Mm, this is much better than a massage,” David mutters as Patrick turns his attention to his neck, biting and sucking at the skin below his ear in a way that always gets David to buck up against him. “You should consider a change of career, because I am feeling _very_ relaxed.”

Patrick growls in response and pushes closer till their hips are flush.

“That is going to make for a very strange story one day,” he mumbles with a low voice, but David can feel his smile against his shoulder.

“Oh, for sure,” David agrees. “At least it has a happy ending.”

Patrick barks out a surprised laugh and pulls his head back to capture David’s lips again in a gentle kiss. “I love you, David.”

“Mm, I love you too.”

The kiss turns languid. Patrick melts into David’s arms, soft and relaxed as he bites and sucks along David’s skin, careful not to leave any marks lest they be visible in the pictures later. Once he’s had his fill of kissing, he slides off David’s lap and onto the floor, relishing in the warmth of David’s crotch as he rubs and noses along it.

“Can I--?”

“Please,” David chokes out, his head dropping back, and then swinging forward again so he can look down at Patrick who grins wolfishly up at him. He pets the side of Patrick’s head, his hand stroking over his ear and the short hairs with fondness as his fiancé tugs at his waistband impatiently until David’s cock finally springs free.

Patrick hesitates for a moment, making David whine in frustration. He kisses up the shaft before finally taking him in his mouth and sucking lightly.

“Fuck,” David moans out, his head finally flopping all the way back as he sinks, boneless into the couch cushions. “That feels so good.”

The vibration of Patrick humming sends ripples up David’s spine and he makes an achingly loud noise in response.

Patrick doubles down his efforts, bringing out every trick he’s learned in their relationship to bring David quickly to the edge, relishing in the gasps and groans coming from his future husband.

“Patrick, baby, I’m gonna--” David chokes out. Patrick pulls off and jerks him until he’s coming into a tissue from the side table. “Come here.”

Patrick grins as he clambers back up onto David’s laps, already leaning down to kiss him passionately and open-mouthed. He smiles against David’s lips as he feels him struggling to get through the belt and tight jeans but soon enough, he’s thrusting into David’s hand.

“That’s right, inhale and exhale, let go honey,” David is murmuring directly into Patrick’s ear as he clings to his fiancé, face buried in David’s neck.

“David--” he cuts off as he comes. He pulls David closer and holds him tighter to his chest as their breaths even out and the tension from the stressful day, the rain and the misunderstanding with the massage all falls away from Patrick’s shoulder.

“That’s it,” David says, rubbing his clean hand up and down Patrick’s back. “Now, doesn’t that feel better?”

“Hm,” Patrick agrees, wordlessly.

Their peace is broken as beside them on the couch, David’s phone starts vibrating furiously, Stevie’s contact flashing up on the screen. He sighs and reaches for it, holding it to his ear and rolling his eyes.

“What?”

Patrick smirks and grabs the soiled tissues from their hands to bin as he watches David growl into the phone.

“I told you where I’d be going this morning-- No, I know-- What do you mean they’re not back yet?-- How should I know?-- Yes, I know, no, yeah. Okay. I’ll get Patrick to drop me off now, alright?”

He hangs up and looks back up at Patrick.

“That was Stevie, she says we are ‘running behind schedule’, apparently I should have been at the motel a whole ten minutes ago.”

Patrick whistles air through his teeth and shakes his head as if disappointed. “That’s it, the wedding’s off, we’ve messed it all up.”

“We had a good run,” David says with a grin as he stands up and re-arranges himself in his sweatpants. “Can you give me a lift to the motel please?”

Patrick is already reaching for the keys. “Sure, come on.”

They hold hands as they clamber down the stairwell. “You know, the next time I’m in your apartment we’ll be husbands,” David muses as they go, making Patrick smile softly. They climb into the car. “The next time I get in your car it’ll be as your husband.”

“Okay, David. Are we going to go through all of them?”

“Yes.”

The ride back to the motel is silent. The rain seems to have let up and the sky has cleared slightly, though still slightly foggy. Patrick is hopeful that the lawn will have dried by the time they start the ceremony, but David doesn’t seem concerned as he smiles through the windows, turning to brush his fingers up and down Patrick’s arm as they drive.

Patrick pulls the car up in the same spot outside room seven, where just over two years ago, they had shared their first kiss.

“Well that was a fun, morning,” David says, clapping his hands on his knees with a teasing smirk.

“I’m really glad I decided to marry you, David.”

The jokes stop there, as David dives across the central console to grab at the back of Patrick’s head and pull their lips together. The kiss is familiar, and passionate, and desperate. It leaves Patrick gasping for air, and his chest heaving.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, but he can’t finish the sentence as David kisses him again. “The next time I do that it’ll be as your husband.”

David kisses him once, twice, three times more as if to prove a point.

“There, now it will,” he says as he pulls away, but he laughs as Patrick kisses him again.

They both turn towards the motel to see Alexis and Stevie stood in the doorway of David’s room looking annoyed. He rolls his eyes at them and kisses Patrick again.

“I’ll meet you at the altar,” he says smiling.

“I’ll be the one in the black suit staring at you,” Patrick responds.

“Okay, so if my outfit has the effect that I’m hoping it will, there will be a lot of people in black suits staring at me,” David corrects, grinning as Patrick pinches him teasingly on the side. “But only one of them will be my soulmate so, that makes it easier.”

“I love you, David.”

“I love you too--”

Their peace is shatters as Stevie tugs at the passenger door handle from the outside. Cold air fills the car and David turns to her with a frown.

“Okay, enough of this, out, you’ll have the rest of your lives to suck face.”

“She’s right, David. The rest of our lives,” Patrick mutters and Stevie groans as they kiss once more. It takes considerable tugging and groaning on her part to get David out the car and into the motel room. He keeps turning to watch as Patrick reverses out of the parking space and back towards the main road, waving all the while.

“As your maid of honour, I feel the need to tell you that you are making it _really_ hard for me to give you the ‘wedding day of your dreams’ that you demanded.”

“You’re doing a great job,” David teases, nudging her side.

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Stevie asks. “You are shockingly calm for David Rose on his wedding day.”

“I am calm, thank you for noticing.”

Patrick  
  
Next time I text you it'll be as your husband !  
  


“Oh my God stop staring at your phone, it’s past half twelve, we’re all meant to be dressed by now!”

“I didn’t know you needed me to be here for you to change,” David sasses. “I’m flattered, Stevie, but I’m an almost married man now. Also, me and Patrick already--” he makes a lewd gesture with his hands, “this morning so I don’t think I could get it back up if I tried.”

Stevie snorts and hits his arm just as Alexis steps out of the bathroom. “Ew, David, oversharing much?”

She’s wearing a long pale gown, a blush pinkish shade despite the black and white theme, and it shimmers in the low light of the motel.

“Um, what are you wearing? That’s a bit bride-like, don’t you think?” David asks, turning towards Stevie who just shakes her head at him.

“Um, thank you, you look very gorgeous and expensive too,” Alexis snarks, looking his _Love_ jumper up and down with a judgemental glare.

“Count your blessings, this is a replacement dress after I found your sister in a literal wedding dress and veil this morning,” Stevie chips in.

“A _what?_ ”

“Ugh, first of all, it wasn’t a veil it was a lace-headdress thing. Secondly, David, you chose the black and white theme, what else was I meant to wear!”

“Black?!” David exclaims, “You could wear black, like Mom’s wearing black, and Stevie is wearing black, and all the other women are wearing _black_!”

“That’s just a black theme then, David which is way too depressing for your wedding day! People will think they’re attending a funeral!”

“And you think it’s better that we walk down the aisle looking like we’re marrying each other? What sort of backwards wedding do you think this is?”

“Ugh, tt’s not--”

“Okay, David, we’re going to go next door while you change into your wedding suit, and then we’ll pop some zhampagne and have a drink,” Stevie interrupts their bickering with a firm tone. Suddenly David understands what his Dad had seen when he invested in the motel, and he’s distracted from his annoyance with his sister to just smile softly at her.

“Okay,” he murmurs. He takes a deep calming breath as they disappear into his parents’ room and turns to unzip the bag around his suit. The black fabric is soft and high quality, and he dresses slowly in the shirt, jacket, and skirt, pulling on the socks and shoes and standing in front of the mirror with a thoughtful look.

“Oh, David, don’t you look majestic. My only son, all grown up and starting a life with his saccharine husband-to-be,” Moira crows from where her and Johnny are stood at the door. He turns to smile at her, his dimples emerging as he takes in her black jumpsuit and bright silver shoulder piece.

“Thank you,” he says softly. “You look very nice; did you find the Brewers okay?”

“They have already vacated the premises to see their own son. It seems discourteous to leave your fiancé all alone today of all days, David, poor thing must be abashed with nerves!” Moira swans around him, pinching the shoulders of his suit and brushing invisible lint from his jacket.

David barks a laugh at the memory of Patrick’s distinct lack of nerves during their time together. “I think he’ll be fine. And you were the one who said that we shouldn’t spend the night together! What a time for your Catholicism to jump out.”

“Now, David, you know your mother was only doing what she thought was best for you. It’s traditional that the bride and groom spend the night apart before their wedding.”

“Did you tell the bride that?”

Johnny seems to want to argue back, but the shine of tears in his eyes gives the game away. Him and Moira stand on either side of David’s shoulders and look at him in the mirror.

“You look wonderful son. Are you nervous?”

David purses his lips. “Less so now that it’s stopped raining. Is the grass all muddy still?”

Johnny shakes his head. “Ronnie called me this morning; she’s already added carpet from the aisle to reach the pavement, so you won’t have to step on the grass. No extra charge. She wanted to make it very clear that she was doing it for you and not for Patrick, however.”

“Mm, maybe we just won’t tell him that.”

“Who wants zhampagne?” Stevie exclaims as her and Alexis re-appear through the door. She has changed into her black wedding suit, her hair lying long and straight across her shoulders and her make-up perfected, likely thanks to Alexis’ help.

“I wouldn’t say no to a little tibble, as it’s a celebration,” Moira says, accepting a glass.

They are all served healthy doses of the drink and clink their glasses together in the middle.

“Okay, drink up! It’s your big day, and we love you. To David,” Alexis exclaims.

“ _To David_ ,” they echo, as David smiles shyly.

Somebody puts some light music on, they talk, and they laugh as they sit around on the beds in his and Alexis’ room. Most of David’s things are already packed in boxes ready to be shipped off to the cottage, the rest having already been taken over there a few days before. Alexis’ are still in disarray though she is leaving in a few days, though she always enjoyed the pressure of a last-minute organisation.

They stay away from the room next door, its gaping emptiness and lack of wigs too much to bear on this happy day.

Before long, they begin to hear the sounds of cars arriving, the scuffle of feet and chatter outside the doors. David has the urge to peek through the window and search for Patrick, but Stevie won’t let him.

His parents make their leave, kissing him on each cheek and walking out of the room arm in arm. Stevie is next, squeezing his arm and beaming up at him, already teary eyed.

“Congratulations David.”

“Thank you,” he murmurs as he watches her leave. He turns to Alexis, who takes an exaggerated breath to remind him to be calm. He follows her direction and nods, the butterflies starting to take flight in his stomach as he begins to pace slowly.

“Are you ready for this?” Alexis asks finally, moving towards the door.

“Yes. Yep. I’m ready.”

They step out the motel room. It’s no longer raining, but the clouds are still gathered in the sky, an ominous, threatening presence. They pause just before the corner of the motel. David can see the beginning of the carpet, and he hears the shuffling of people standing up. Alexis hands him his bouquet of flowers and grins.

“Hey David, I love you.”

David huffs at the emotion and wiggles nervously, fiddling with the ribbon around the flowers as he rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, I love you too,” he mumbles the last bit, but Alexis doesn’t seem to mind. She reaches over to links their arms and gives him a squeeze as they step around the corner of the motel.

The lawn is laid out with white fold up chairs all in a row. The aisle is at an angle away from the motel, leading down to a beautiful white, flowered chuppah at the end. Patrick stands under it, Rachel behind him and Stevie on the other side, with the officiant in the centre, watching his arrival.

The Jazzagals stand to the side of the rows and start singing as they see his approach.

_You’re simply the best,_

_Better than all the rest,_

_Better than anyone,_

_Anyone I’ve ever met._

_I’m stuck on your heart,_

_I hang on every word you say,_

_Tear us apart,_

_Baby I would rather be dead._

David and Alexis slowly make their way down the aisle. David is thankful for the added carpet as he feels the ground beneath it is soft and wet. He smiles at people politely as he walks past, but his eyes are trained on Patrick at the end, watching him with wide eyes.

When he reaches the end, Alexis hugs him tight, and David returns it, already feeling his eyes blurring with tears. When he pulls away, he lets out a soft laugh as he stands beside Patrick and reaches out to touch his arm reassuringly.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” David murmurs back, so that only Patrick can hear him.

“You look beautiful,” Patrick returns.

They turn to Fabian, a tall white-haired man with a wiry handlebar moustache, standing with his hands clasped in front of him and smiling pleasantly.

“Sadly, the thunder,

Has tried to drown us today,

But love will prevail.”

David doesn’t look away from him even as he feels Patrick’s hand slipping into his and clasping tight.

“We plant seeds of love,

On this, the happy start of,

Your eternal life.

We are in honour,

Of Patrick and David’s love,

Which shines evermore.”

He waves his hands in the air and David can hear the rustle of clothes.

“Please be seated.”

Fabian clears his throat and smiles around at the audience, his eyes landing on David and Patrick as he talks directly to them.

“I am glad to be here in front of you today to celebrate the wedding of David Rose and Patrick Brewer. When I heard about David’s vision for this ceremony, I was blown away by the image, and the creativity that he displayed. At first, I believed incorrectly that he was the mastermind of the operation, but I was blindly misinformed. David and Patrick’s relationship, as I have been informed by his family and friends, is a partnership of equals. They have shown time and time again that their mutual respect and understanding of each other has allowed them to work in harmony, both romantically and professionally. Their store, Rose Apothecary, is a monument to their compatibility, and I am sure everyone here today has seen first-hand the ways in which this couple complement each other in so many ways.”

David lets out a little gasp of emotion and tightens his hand in Patrick’s as Fabian continues. The rain has started again but it’s light enough that the guests remain seated. David and Patrick are sheltered by the chuppah and they both laugh as they step further under the cover.

“Now, I would like to invite David and Patrick to share their vows for one another.”

They turn, their hands slipping out of each other’s, and Patrick takes a few steadying breaths.

“David,” he starts, and then pauses, looking down and smiling while blinking away tears. “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe I get to have this I--”

David reaches out a hand to grasp onto Patrick’s sleeve as he struggles to get the words out.

“I’m gonna keep this short, because I think you already know that I would climb a thousand mountains for you. You will always be a part of me, and _I’m part of you indefinitely. Boy don’t you know you can’t escape me, because you’ll always be my baby. And we’ll linger on, time can’t erase a feeling this strong, no way you’re never gonna shake me, ‘cause you know you’ll always be my baby._ ”

The tears are falling with abandon as David smiles and rolls his eyes at his husband’s antics.

“David?”

“Uh, yes?” David chokes out with a grin as the attention is drawn back towards him. “Okay. Patrick,” he starts, gaining strength from the small smile of encouragement Patrick gives him. “I’ve never liked a smile as much as I like yours. I’ve never felt as safe as I do when I’m with you. I’ve never known love like I have when we’re together. It’s not been an easy road for me but knowing that you will always be there for me at the end of it makes everything okay. Patrick Brewer, _you_ are my happy ending.”

The last statement had been written a few days before, meant completely genuinely in the moment, but David puts emphasis on the words to get Patrick to smile which he does, breathing out an amused laugh and looking at the floor.

“Patrick Brewer, do you take David Rose to be you lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, on this day and the next, for as long as you both shall live.”

David reaches pulls out the ring and takes Patrick’s hand, watching him carefully as he nods. “I do.”

“David Rose, do you take Patrick Brewer to be your lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, on this day and the next, for as long as you both shall live.”

Patrick does the same, holding David’s hand with such reverent care and sliding the ring over his knuckles. “I do.”

“I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss each other.”

David reaches for Patrick, cupping his face with tender hands as they meet in the middle. Their first kiss of many as husbands only a few feet from where they had their first kiss, when they had both decided to be brave and take the step that led them to this very day.

“I love you,” David mumbles as they separate, not letting Patrick go just yet and instead pulling him in for one more kiss.

“I love you.”

They pull apart and Patrick turns to Fabian who hands him a Rose Apothecary glass mug made, handblown by one of their vendors and wrapped in thin white tissue paper. Patrick puts it on the ground between them and both he and David raise their right feet to stamp on it.

The guests applaud as it smashes under their feet. David leans over and kisses Patrick again before taking his hand and making their way back down the aisle, smiling at the guests as they pass.

They continue on back towards the motel where they slip into Room 7 for Yichud, giving their parents the opportunity to ensure the reception is organised.

As soon as the door is shut, David presses Patrick against it and kisses him deeply, his hands already wandering down his sides and under his jacket.

“I’m going to divorce you,” David says between kisses. “I’m gonna divorce you so hard.”

“Really?” Patrick asks with a grin.

“Singing you vows, Patrick? Really? So incorrect.”

“It worked for me once before. And who can say it better than Mariah?”

David wrinkles up his nose as Patrick gazes at him. “You’re my Mariah Carey,” he says, echoing Patrick’s words from years before.

Patrick’s reaction is far more dramatic than the words should warrant but after an emotional day, neither of them can hold it back any longer. “David--” Patrick murmurs, slowing their kisses and reaching up a hand to cup David’s face. Tears are spilling over his eyes as he stares at his husband in unabashed adoration. “David.”

“Come on, we have half an hour until we’re allowed back out, let’s lie down,” David replies, leading him over to the single bed and laying down on it so that they are both on their sides facing each other.

Their knees knock in the centre of the bed, as they gaze at each other, so close that their eyes go out of focus every so often. Patrick kisses David first, full of love and meaning. He presses closer, as if unable to bear being apart from David for even a minute.

David makes an annoyed face when he breaks it off to talk again. “You’re gorgeous, David. You’re so beautiful. My husband.”

“Mm, shh now,” David closes his eyes for them to kiss again. He rolls on top of his husband and holds him close, kissing him with everything he has. They lose themselves in the kiss, Patrick becoming pliant underneath him and melting into David’s lips. His hands keep wandering, brushing the sides of David’s suit, down to the soft fabric of his skirt, and back up to his shoulders.

The half hour passes in the blink of an eye, and soon enough they hear Stevie banging on the door in warning before cracking it open just slightly.

“We’re ready for you,” she says, keeping her eyes averted. David thanks her and she leaves them to get decent. They fix each other’s boutonnieres and kiss each other several more times before finally nodding and turning to the door where the reception awaits.

“Come on, it’s rude to be absent for too long at your own wedding,” David murmurs as he rubs Patrick’s shoulders through his suit and smiles brightly at him.

“This was my favourite tradition I think,” Patrick says as they exit the room together. Just before they can get out of the door, Patrick pulls David back into the doorway. Outside, the rain has started up again. It’s not heavy, but he pulls his jacket off nevertheless, holding it up over his and David’s heads as they rush back out onto the grass.

The layout for the ceremony is gone, the chuppah having been placed by the large white tents that fill the rest of the field outside the motel. David and Patrick run along the damp, carpeted aisle to cheers of assent as they duck under the jacket, hiding from the rain.

Under the linoleum, circular tables with white cloths covering them are all laid out, all with matching white rose centrepieces and name tags for the seats, a seating plan Patrick had spent weeks puzzling out, trying to keep everyone happy and comfortable.

At the front of the room a long head table for David and Patrick and the wedding parties to sit; the parents, Alexis, Stevie, and Rachel are all already seated. To one side, a dance floor and stage is set up with speakers prepared for later in the night.

“Please welcome the grooms,” Stevie says into a microphone where she is stood at the top table. David and Patrick head over to their seats with laughs and small waves. David sits next to Stevie, and Patrick next to Rachel.

Patrick shakes out his jacket and sticks it on the back of his chair to dry before slipping next to David and wrapping an arm around his back.

Food is dispersed amongst everyone, the lobster roll, and beef tenderloin being dished out amongst the tables by the catering company. A hum of conversation fills the room, but all David sees is Patrick.

They sit close together, Patrick’s arm around David’s back, constantly petting and stroking at the silky suit fabric. He feeds David forkfuls of their food, eyes trained on his lips as he opens them and takes bites. They kiss, and their tongues taste of the delicious food.

“Did we pay extra per haiku?” Patrick asks, nodding to where Fabian and Twyla seem to be deep in conversation on the other side of the room.

“Mm, he actually gave us a discount if we _let_ him read them,” David counters, earning a gleeful laugh from his husband and a handfed forkful of the arugula and black truffle side salad.

“If we’d let him do the whole thing in haiku form do you reckon, we could have got it free?”

“I didn’t ask, but you’re right, that’s why you’re the numbers guy.”

This one earns David a kiss which he laughs into, bubbling over with the joy of the day.

The plates are cleared, and wine is poured, David leans into Patrick’s side as Stevie stands up and takes the microphone again, tapping a knife against her zhampagne glass and awkwardly smiling at the tentful of people.

“Um, excuse me, hi everyone. I think we’re going to get started with the speeches now. Um, I’m Stevie, you all know who I am. I’m David’s maid of honour. Four years ago, that man walked into the office at the motel, complained about his room, and demanded a new towel. He also called me rude, which, to be fair, I was, but he grew on me I guess, or at least, that must be true, because somehow he forced me to stand here today to do my least favourite thing; public speaking.”

David smiles up at her and she looks down at him.

“David and I have a complicated history, but I am lucky to have him in my life. That being said, Patrick, you have your work cut out for you. I have provided the towels, but I am officially handing responsibility for David Rose over to you from this point on.”

Patrick nods soberly, and reaches down to pull David’s hand up, pressing a kiss to his knuckle, just above the newly appointed wedding ring.

“In all seriousness, I just want to say congratulations to both of you. Your relationship has been the biggest joy of my life to witness, and you make each other better, and I’m grateful to be able to be here with you today. To Patrick and David.”

_“To Patrick and David!”_

David stands up to hug Stevie tightly, an embrace she returns with enthusiasm, sniffing a bit over his shoulder though he is sure she will dispute that detail in years to come. “Thank you,” he whispers into her hair.

“Well, this is the only time I actually have to be nice to you, so--” Stevie replies with a shrug, making David just smirk.

“Oh sure, tell that to the tears.”

“All for effect, David. It’s part of the speech.”

David screws up his lips against the uncontrollable grin that raises on his face. They are pulled back to the room by Rachel, taking the microphone from Stevie and clearing her throat.

“Um, hi everyone. So, you actually don’t know me I don’t think. Or if you do, it’s not exactly a positive interpretation. Um, I’m Rachel O’Neill, I am Patrick’s Maid of Honour, and um, well, I always knew I’d be speaking at Patrick’s wedding one day. Sure, at one point I thought I would be the bride, but I think I like this much better.”

David snorts a laugh, and there are a few forced or uncomfortable ripples of amusement through the room. Rachel tucks her hair behind her ear and shifts her weight between her feet awkwardly.

“Patrick has always been my inspiration, and I’m so happy it turned out this way. I want to thank you Patrick, for being the strong one, for making the right decision for us even when it was hard, and for freeing us of the expectations we had placed on ourselves. I will always love you, but you were right, we didn’t feel love for each other in the way it should have been. So, thank you for showing me what love should be like, not with me, but with David. I’m so proud of you, and I love you very much.”

Patrick stands up and pulls Rachel into a tight, squeezing hug. There is more applause at this than there were laughs at her joke, and she’s shaking from the adrenaline and nerves as she clutches at Patrick.

“I love you too,” Patrick says, “I’m so proud of you.”

Rachel sits down quietly and Marcy, who is sat next to her, takes her hand under the table and squeezes it.

Mr Rose barely gets through his speech without crying so Moira takes over, ranting about “bébé crows” and “butterfly wings”. Marcy makes a sweet toast to her “sweet boys,” ending the speech with a hug and kiss to the cheek for each of them.

The party is moved towards the dance area. David is giddy and excitable, having to be pulled away from the edge of the tent by Patrick to avoid him getting soaked by the water pouring from the roof. He thanks his husband with kisses, and then immediately, distracted, almost steps into the downpour again, requiring Patrick’s steady hand to tug him back.

“We’re going to bring out the cake now,” Stevie announces after a while, once everyone is sufficiently tipsy on zhampagne and spritzer. David and Patrick stand in the corner of the floor and wait for it to be pulled in by the catering company.

“Hey, what did you choose in the end?” Patrick leans over to whisper in David’s ear.

“You’ll see,” he responds with a sly grin, watching as a metal frame is pulled over to where they are stood in front of the table.

David had had it baked professionally by a vendor from Elmdale; a delicate structure of the Apothecary in icing and cream, every single detail completed to a tee; the foggy windows with black frames, the sign, and the vegetable product outside all done with a gentle hand.

Patrick grabs for David’s hand but only ends up clutching his wrist.

“David, I thought you wanted a traditional cake?” he asks with shocked excitement.

David rolls his eyes. “I may have been willing to sacrifice a few details for you to have a perfect day too. You wanted this wedding to be a representation of us, and that store is where we started our lives together, it’s how we met, and I felt like this was the perfect representation of who we are.”

“But what about the olive oil and citrus cake you liked so much? You said that the design was ‘classy and elegant’, I thought it fitted with your mood board?” his eyes already dancing with poorly concealed amusement.

“Oh, that’s what the cake is made out of. I said I’d sacrifice some things, not everything.”

Patrick does his signature, ‘I’m so fond of you’ face in response to that and David just has to kiss him right there, so he does, because it’s his- their wedding day, and the one time he can excuse PDA as just part of the celebrations.

“Are we ready to do this?” Patrick asks as he takes a knife proffered from somewhere.

Ray is stood nearby, camera in hand ready to catch the moment. Their friends and family are all watching with amusement, and David nods. It feels symbolic; a full circle moment from beginning the store together to beginning their married life together.

Also, David wants to eat cake, and to do so they need to cut it.

He wraps his hand over Patrick’s and together they cut through one corner of the Rose Apothecary roof, sliding through smooth buttercream and sponge till they hit the bottom.

They square out the first slice and put down the knife. In a flash of light, David is reaching for a handful of the cake and shoving it at Patrick’s mouth before his husband can even think to do it first.

Patrick splutters in surprise, the cake coating from his nose to his chin, but recovers quickly, licking his mouth slightly. It’s messier than David had been expecting and he giggles at the white mess around his husband’s lips.

“Mm, it tastes good David, do you want to try?”

David is prepared to ward off his hand, what he’s not prepared for is for Patrick to swoop in and press a messy, open-mouthed kiss to his lips, effectively spreading the icing over David’s face while avoiding any danger of messing up his suit.

David is unsure whether to be grateful or upset, but upon licking the icing from Patrick’s mouth he decides it tastes so good he can barely be bothered to think on it. Patrick’s arms stay locked around David’s waist as they kiss, sticky and sweet and just bordering on too much and it’s perfect. David is red in the face and grinning as he pulls away, immediately reaching for a napkin to wipe his own, and then his husband’s messy chins.

The cake is wheeled off to a corner as the party moves towards the dance floor. It had been decided that instead of a DJ, Patrick and David would come to an agreement about a playlist of music to put on through the speakers for the first half of the night, ending in a karaoke stage for those stragglers at the end of the night.

Stevie, the perfect Maid of Honour that she is, sets up the music, and begins the song for their first dance.

The first notes of Etta James’ _‘At Last’_ play across the room, and David and Patrick are called forward to the floor. Patrick leads David by the hand and pulls him into a loose embrace, his hands resting around his hips as they sway together in the centre of attention.

_At last, my love has come along._

_My lonely days are over._

_And life is like a song._

_At last, the skies above are blue._

_My heart was wrapped up in clover,_

_The night I looked at you._

“I think we can call today a success; don’t you think?” Patrick murmurs directly into David’s ear.

“I don’t know, will it have a happy ending do you think?”

“You are insatiable, do you know that?” Patrick responds, pulling back to look at David in the eye.

“Only when it comes to you,” David breathes in response, their noses knocking as they put their foreheads together. “Everyone seems pretty happy. I didn’t realise how much I would want to be alone with you though.”

Patrick raises an eyebrow. “I’m sure if you’re that desperate then nobody would notice a few grass stains once they’ve all had a few more drinks.”

David tips his head back and laughs. “Oh my God! I didn’t mean to-- I meant I just want to be with you, without everyone watching, so that we can celebrate being husbands for just a little bit longer.”

Patrick stays silent for a moment longer.

“Okay, maybe you’re right, maybe I do want sneak off and hook up. But I think that’s my right, and as my husband you have to support me on this.”

Patrick’s eyes soften around the edges. “You have the full support of your husband,” he says.

“Mm, you also have the full support of your husband.”

“Good to know.”

More people join them on the dance floor, but David stays with Patrick through the next few songs; a Frank Sinatra number as well as a Louis Armstrong one. They stay linked together, rocking slowly back and forth, lost in their own world.

Ray is swaying back and forth while also taking pictures, and David wonders for a moment how any of them will come out clear, but for the first time, he finds he doesn’t care.

The tone of the dance floor changes when ‘Precious Love’ comes on, and Patrick deserts his post to dance with Rachel, while David is stolen by Stevie.

“You did good today, you know,” David says as they dance together, the mirror image of a dance they’d taken in a barn, so many years ago.

“Did I get the David Rose seal of approval?”

“Mm, we’ll see how the rest of the night goes,” David replies with a grin, making Stevie shove him in the arm in retribution. “It’ll really seal the deal when we do our Mariah duet together though.”

“Are you not gonna sing with Patrick?”

“Absolutely not, we only just got married, I don’t need him going down the slippery slope of realising we can’t harmonise together and deciding that we don’t fit together at all!”

Stevie clucks her tongue disapprovingly. “You know that wouldn’t happen, right? I thought we were well past all these passing fears about Patrick leaving you.”

“Oh no, I know,” David brushes off her concern with a wave of the hand before placing it back on her hip. “The guy’s obsessed with me, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t work extra hard to keep it that way.”

He laughs as Stevie rolls her eyes and they continue to sway.

Across the room, Patrick and Rachel are the mirror image, rocking in time to the music as they speak in low voices.

“The speech was really great, Rach.”

“I don’t know, I don’t think many of your friends found it that funny that your ex-fiancée was at your wedding day. Maybe I shouldn’t have made that joke.”

“Stop, they’re just protective of David. Your speech was perfect.”

“I do wish there were a few more familiar faces here though,” Rachel says, looking around at the strangers dancing around them. “Where are all the Brewer cousins I was expecting to see?”

“Jo went into labour a month early so her whole family couldn’t travel. Brian and his family are in the Bahamas on holiday and couldn’t get it refunded, others had work things or other general life getting in the way.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No,” Patrick murmurs, looking up from Rachel to watch as his husband sways arm in arm with his best friend. Something Stevie is saying makes David burst into laughter, his head tipping back and eyes crinkling with joy. “I wouldn’t change anything about today.”

“I’m so glad you got to have this, Patrick,” Rachel says quietly, following his gaze. “I’m so glad it all went down how it did.”

“You’ll have it too, if you want it,” Patrick says, turning his attention back to the petite girl in his arms.

“I want it,” Rachel nods. “Maybe not in the way I thought I did. Um, do you remember Danielle? That you used to work with?”

“You and--?”

Rachel bites her lip and nods while Patrick pulls her just that little bit closer.

“I’m so proud of you Rachel.”

“You too, Patrick.”

David is passed off to Alexis next, then Jocelyn, then Ronnie, before finally landing back in his husband’s arms. In the time they had been apart, the sun has set, and the sky has darkened. The stars are out, splashed across the sky in blinding splatters of light. The tent is shrouded in bulb lights, and everyone seems to glitter in the low glow of the evening. The grass is still damp, though the clouds have disappeared, and droplets of rainwater scatter the ground in a beautiful twinkling blanket.

“I was wondering where you’d gotten to,” David says, as he loops his arms around Patrick’s shoulders and pulls him close. “Thought you might have run off without me.”

“Without you?” Patrick asks with a sarcastic pout, “Never. At least, not before the next dance.

David groans, resting his head in Patrick’s shoulder as the loud, traditional Jewish music starts playing, signalling the start of the horah. In front of the stage, two chairs have been set out and Patrick tugs David by the arm towards them.

“Why are we doing this?” David whines even as he lets himself be dragged.

“It’s tradition, David!”

At the last minute, Patrick switches which chair they are heading to, pushing David towards the one without Roland nearby, a gesture David is thankful for.

The crowd yells and claps along as they are seated, and Stevie passes them each the end of a length of white silk fabric to cling onto as their chairs are lifted into the air. David squeaks and clings to the edge of his seat as Ronnie, Bob, and Johnny push the chair up onto their shoulders, bouncing it up and down in time with Patrick’s, hoisted by Clint, Ray, and Roland.

Patrick lets out a whooping laugh as they each tug on one side of the fabric keeping them together. David finds himself laughing too as he watches his family jumping and celebrating together. The seat is kept steady; far steadier than Patrick’s whose is jerking dangerously thanks to the various heights of the men carrying it. David hangs on to the seat and the fabric with a white-knuckled grip until he is placed back on solid ground and allowed to get up.

He’s shaking as Patrick steps back into his personal space and coddles him slightly.

“See, it wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“It was very stressful. I felt very insecure, anything could have happened,” David whines, putting it on with extra emphasis to gain more sympathy from his husband, who panders to him as usual.

“You were very brave, David. I’m so proud of you. Thank you for doing that for me,” he says, punctuating each point with a kiss, travelling further down David’s neck every time.

“Yes, well, the things I do for you,” David brushes off, but he’s grinning fondly and leaning into Patrick’s touch.

They are interrupted by Moira swanning over to them, her arm out ready to grasp David’s and cut in.

“If I may obtain my son’s hand? I believe the groom should dance with his mother at least once before we retire for the night.”

Patrick suppresses the smirk that always rises in response to Mrs Rose and nods, passing David’s hand to her and disappearing to dance with his own mother.

_Know your eyes in the morning sun,_

_I feel you touch me in the pouring rain,_

_And the moment that you wander far from me,_

_I want to feel you in my arms again._

“You two make quite a splendiferous picture together,” Moira says in her most gentle voice. “I feel better knowing that I am parting, leaving you in the hands of someone who is sincerely devoted to you.”

David just sucks his lips between his teeth and nods.

“Your father and I will miss you very much, I hope you know that.”

It’s such a shocking display of sentimentality from Moira, that David finds himself blinking back tears. “I will miss you as well.”

Moira reaches out a hand behind her blindly, and they stop dancing as Johnny approaches, linking an arm around his wife’s back.

“I hope you managed to have the wedding you always dreamed of, David,” he says as they all stand together, arms touching in a loose embrace. “Considering the budgetary restraints and everything.”

“You didn’t have to--” David starts. “I think I would have been happy regardless, as long as I was marrying Patrick, and as long as you were here. And that’s saying something because I still think candelabras would have really brought the tent together in a much more tasteful way.”

He’s covering for his emotion with humour, but his parents don’t call him out, instead, pulling him close between them to hug him tight.

“Um, excuse me, rude much? Am I not involved in whatever family moment you’re having?” Alexis asks as she approaches from behind David.

“Get in here,” Johnny says with a smile, opening up a space between him and David for her to join the hug. Together the family rock together to the sound of the Bee Gees, _‘How Deep is Your Love.’_

_And you come to me on a summer breeze,_

_Keep me warm in your love then you softly love,_

_Then it’s me you need to show,_

_How deep is your love?_

David laughs as he twirls his sister under his arm, and she returns the favour.

The end of the song comes, and his parents make their leave, returning to their motel room to get some sleep before the early start the next morning. The Brewers follow, leaving Patrick and passing David on their way out, pausing to press a fond hand to his cheek and a sincere congratulations.

Next is Roland and Jocelyn, taking Roland Jr. home.

Patrick takes the absences as an excuse to start up the karaoke machine, and Twyla takes the stage in a surprisingly beautiful rendition of _‘Kiss Me’_ by Sixpence None the Richer.Drink begins to flow with a heavier hand, the spirits are brought out from hiding, and the remaining guests toast to increasingly vulgar things.

Ronnie brings over a large bottle of whiskey, handing it straight to David and giving a stern look to Patrick. She still pours him a glass though, and they even dance together once she is sufficiently drunk enough.

_“Kiss me, beneath the milky twilight,_

_Lead me, out on the moonlight floor,_

_Lift you open hands,_

_Strike up the band,_

_make the fireflies dance,_

_silver moon sparkling._

_So kiss me.”_

The dancing becomes more energetic, Patrick swings around in circles, David encased close to his chest as they laugh together. David snorts as Patrick’s movements get increasingly uncontrolled. People bump together on the dance floor as they jump and dance close together.

It’s messy, and disorganised, and David’s cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.

Patrick especially has gotten more and more drunk as they night goes on. By the time he climbs onto the stage to take the microphone, he’s swaying on his feet and slurring his words just slightly.

The backing track of Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t Take My Eyes off You’ starts, and he stands in the centre of the stage, his eyes hooded from the alcohol but his voice clear and earnest as he looks down towards David.

_“You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off of you,_

_You’d be like heaven to touch,_

_I wanna hold you so much.  
At long last love has arrived,_

_And I thank God I’m alive._

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off you.”_

“That’s my husband!” David yells from where he’s standing with Alexis and Rachel hanging off his arms. “Yes baby!”

Patrick gleefully makes the instrumental noises as well as singing the lyrics and jumps up and down energetically on the chorus.

“ _I love you baby, and if it’s quite alright,_

_I need you baby, to warm the lonely night,_

_I love you baby, trust in me when I say._

_Oh, pretty baby, don’t bring me down I pray,_

_Oh, pretty baby now that I’ve found you stay,_

_And let me love you baby let me love you.”_

He’s sweaty and red in the face when he finally falls off the stage and into David’s waiting arms. They kiss sloppily in the corner of the tent, groping and moaning into each other’s mouths even as Alexis and Stevie take to the stage to sing a very off-key version of _‘Build Me Up Buttercup’_ by the Foundations.

If he were watching, David would have been scandalised by the way they were dancing so close together, almost no room behind them. Instead, he stays focused on his husband, and his soft, warm lips, and feeling embrace.

“Ready to get out of here?” Patrick asks, long past 2am. The party is still raging around them as they stumble across the dew dropped grass and head to the honeymoon suite, graciously provided by Stevie, who ensured every other room was long booked out when they requested a room.

“Yeah, that seems about right,” David sighs as they take in the red silk bedsheets and gaudy decorations.

“Hey, it’s just for a few hours until your parents leave, and then I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?”

“Call it a wedding gift.”

“Well, now I’m intrigued,” David says in a steady voice, even as Patrick backs him towards the bed, his eyes like fire until David is splayed out across the slippery fabric.

Patrick kisses down David’s neck, nosing at the collar of his shirt, and digs his thumbs into David’s hips. “Do you think you’ll make it a few hours of suspense?”

“I don’t know, you’ll have to do a really good job of distracting me.”

In an ideal world, David might have envisioned some sort of passionate lovemaking in the aftermath of their wedding. With Patrick hungrily tugging off his clothes (obviously carefully hanging them up, even in a fantasy realm David can’t imagine allowing him to crease the fabric) and fucking him with a frenzied desperation.

Instead, they rock together slowly, both exhausted from the long day and satisfied simply to be together. Patrick slips under the suit skirt and takes David in his mouth for the second time that day, bringing him to the edge with a familiar efficiency until he’s moaning wantonly into his arm, trying desperately to stay quiet.

David rolls Patrick onto his back and returns the favour, sucking and licking at his cock until he’s coming within an extremely flattering few minutes.

They don’t bother changing their clothes as they flop back onto the mattress, tangled together in each other’s arms and breaths only just slowing down.

David isn’t aware that he’s even fallen asleep when they are woken up by the sound of Moira, hitting the door with the flat of her palm as a wakeup call.

“Ugh, what?” David moans, holding his head in defence of the burgeoning hangover that hasn’t yet hit, thanks to the alcohol still travelling through his veins.

Patrick makes an echoing pitiful noise but stands from the bed and makes himself halfway decent. He checks David over as well, whose eyes are barely able to open enough to check his own outfit, and they head out of the motel room arm in arm.

The sun is shining today, a vastly different morning from the rain of yesterday. David and Patrick blink against the light and move to join Stevie and Alexis who are still in the clothes from the party and have clearly yet to go to bed.

“Moira,” Johnny calls as they wait for her to finish whatever she’s doing.

“It’s 6am John, I’m moving as fast as I can,” Moira says as she comes out of Room 6, dressed in a stunning black and white suit. “Well, I guess this is it. You know, after our goodbyes last night Roland mentioned a parting gift. I guess he forgot.”

“You know, talking of gifts, we should probably tell you now that we’ve already dropped yours off at the cottage,” Johnny says, turning to David.

“You what? Why would you do that?”

Patrick rubs his back familiarly as if to sooth him. “Just say thank you, David, you’ll see it when we get there.”

“Well I personally wouldn’t have missed this for the whole wide world,” Alexis says, her voice slightly slurred as she pulls the sleeves of her sweater over her hands.

“You’re only saying that because you haven’t gone to bed yet,” David snarks in return, his head starting to ring with the hangover. Patrick breathes out a laugh, clearly still in the realm of drunk rather than facing the consequences of the night of drinking.

The goodbyes are sweet, and affectionate. David finds himself already getting used to the easy way ‘I love you’ trips off his tongue. He hugs his parents tightly, with promises to keep in touch and see them soon, and before long the four Rose children are stood waving at the retreating car with tear-filled eyes.

“Um, so I should probably go. I really need to get some sleep,” Stevie says, swaying slightly and sounding woozy.

David frowns at her in concern.

“Can you--” he turns to Alexis who is already nodding and leading Stevie back towards Room 7.

“We’ll be fine, we’re just gonna get some sleep.”

David watches them go, fiddling with his wedding band as he does so. Patrick takes his hand and squeezes it, getting his attention back toward the road. Down the gravel, Ray comes in his blue Peugeot, stopping directly in front of them and smiling out the window.

“Hello boys, windows open or closed?” he asks, leaning out of the window. David turns to Patrick with a disgusted expression but his husband just huffs a laugh.

“Come on, I said I had a surprise for you, didn’t I?”

“If Ray is your surprise then we really need to work on your gift giving skills,” David mutters, but he lets his husband lead him into the backseat.

Ray is blessedly silent for the short journey through the town, past the Apothecary and the café and towards the road to Elm Glen. They pull up at the cottage and David smiles in relief as they stumble out onto their newly claimed front lawn.

“Thanks for the lift, Ray,” Patrick says, waving him off as he leads David around the side of the house to the back garden. It’s a small lawn, with large trees lining the back and a good-sized stone deck stretching from the back door.

David frowns as Patrick holds his hands over his eyes from behind and leads him closer to the house.

“Ta-dah,” he whispers directly into David’s ear as he pulls his hands away.

At the back of the house, a beautiful full-sized wood-fire pizza oven has been set up. It’s made of beautiful red bricks all built up in a circular hood, with plenty of storage for logs underneath and a classy black metal rack.

“What-- When did you do this?”

“Technically it’s not from me, it’s a gift from our parents, all of them. My parents didn’t get lost on the way here, they were setting this up for us.”

“But, why did you--?” David turns to his husband with the most fondly affectionate expression imaginable.

“I know you wanted it for the wedding day, and we couldn’t have both this and the tent, so Mom and Dad and your parents all paid for it as a wedding gift.”

David chokes back a sob as he turns around and pulls Patrick into his arms.

“Nobody has ever-- I mean, never in my whole life, I--”

Patrick shushes him and pets the back of his head as he spews exhausted nonsense until David finally quiets as flops into his arms.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too, David.”

“Can we have pizza?” David asks, pulling his head up out of Patrick’s shoulder. “No, that’s not. We should probably wait a bit, right?” he corrects as Patrick pulls a face at him.

“Yeah, I don’t think either of us are in the condition to make pizza right now,” Patrick says, looking down at their crumpled wedding suits. “I guess it’s lucky that we already set up our bedroom, huh?”

David nods sleepily as Patrick leads him through the empty kitchen, filled with boxes of gifts dropped off the day before. They stumble up the stairs together, past bare walls and empty rooms before they reach the master bedroom.

Patrick undresses David silently, his hands skimming every patch of bare skin as he does so, and they fall into bed together in just their boxers.

When they wake, they will need to pack up the apartment. They will get dinner with Alexis and Stevie and help them clean up the mess left at the motel. They will fall into bed together again and take their time to press adoring kisses to every crevice and crease of skin, every freckle and scar on each other’s body.

But for now, they sleep, shrouded in clean white sheets, wrapped in each other’s arms, the gold wedding bands on their right hands clinking together.

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I just want to apologise for altering the honestly _sublime_ finale of the show, but I just felt the need to consider the alternative universe where all the planning for the wedding, the flowers and the layout and the officiant, didn't all go to waste. I also changed Moira and Alexis' outfits to those shown in the season 6 promo shoot because I wanted to keep the focus on David on his (their) special day!
> 
> I also want to mention I actually love the Happy Ending storyline, I think it's super funny. But as with everything in the show I love to read and write it altered in every possible way. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, this one has been a long time in the making, I've been considering which way it would go and what would change for months at this point. I hope you enjoyed! 💐


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